Method of curing tobacco.



UNITED STATES PATEN T OFFICE MAROON B. SARKEES, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN OR OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN P. CARROLL, OFPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA,

AND ONE-THIRD TO ROBERT M. COOK,

COLUMBIA.

OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed July 19,1906. Serial No. 326,936.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARooN B. SARKEEs, a subject of the Sultan ofTurkey, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Methods of Curing Tobacco, of which the following is aspecification. 7

My invention relates to an improved meth- 0d of treating tobacco bywhich the leaves are quickly aged and cured and given a fine flavor.

In carrying out my invention the tobacco is out after the flower of theplant closes and is protected from rain and water in all succeedingsteps in the process. Immediately after cutting the leaves are buried inthe ground for a period of about three days. For this purpose a trenchis dug in natural soil and lined with matting or other similar material,which will prevent the moisture in the ground from coming indirectcontact with the tobacco. The tobacco after being completely surroundedwith the matting is covered with soil to a depth of eighteen totwentyfour inches, more or less, and precautions are taken to preventthe trench from being flooded and the tobacco from becoming wet, in caseof rain, by a suitable shed or water-tight covering placed over thetrench. While the tobacco is inclosed in the trench fermentation andsweating of the freshly' cut leaves takes place, which, if too longcontinued, would ruin the tobacco. At the end of about three days thetobacco is removed from the trench, when it will be found to have asomewhat moldy appearance, owing to the exudation of the salts in theto' bacco. At this stage in the process the tobacco is only partly agedand colored. After removal from the trench it is made up in hands andexposed to the action of the sun and the air for about seventy-twohours, more or less, according to the condition of the weather, thehands being turned at intervals to expose all parts of the tobacco tothe sunlight. The action of the sun and air removes the natural dampnessand greenness from the tobacco and arrests fermentation,

and it also causes the reabsorption of the salts, leaving the tobacco ofa light reddish or brownish color.

The trench should be located so that after the removal of the tobaccothe interior of the trench will be exposed to the direct rays of the sunand should be kept dry, so that the rankodor of the green tobacco willdisappear from the trench. After the tobacco has been exposed to the airand sunlight for about seventy-two hours, more or less, it is againburied in the trench, protected by matting, as before, for. a period ofabout three days, during'which further but'less active fermentation,aging, and coloring of the tobacco takes place. After being in thetrench a second time for the period of time mentioned it is removed andthen exposed to the night air only for from three to six nights. Forthis purpose the tobacco is placed in the open air after sundown andtaken in before sunrise. After this step the tobacco has a rich browncolor and a pleasant and peculiar aroma and flavor.

The covering of eighteen inches or more of earth while in the trenchprotects the tobacco from the atmosphere, so that the tobacco sweats andferments in an earthen inclosure from which the air is excluded and inwhich the vapors from the tobacco are retained. The earth removes a rankor bitter flavor from the tobacco, and the exclusion of the air andretention of the vapors causes rapid fermentation and more uniformcoloring, flavoring, and aging of the tobacco.

After thecuring process is completed the tobacco is sprinkled with asolution of arrac and water or other wine spirits or liquors dilutedwith water. The tobacco is then pressed in bundles of suitable size andplaced within a cloth covering and stored in a dry place for fromthreeto four weeks, after which it is ready for the market.

This method of curing tobacco is much shorter than the ordinary methods,and the flavor and aroma of the tobacco are very much improved.

In all stages of the process the tobacco should be protected fromobjects and material from which. it might absorb odor and flavor, andthe soil in which it is buried should be the natural soil free from anysuchcontaminating material; The principal features of my process are thepreliminary fermentation in the trench, the subsequent exposure to thesun and air, and the further burial and fermentation for a short period,

Which steps jointly result in quickly aging, curing, and preserving theflavor of the tobacco.

What I claim is 1. The method of curing tobacco which comprises placingthe freshly-cut leaves in an earthen inclosure, adapted to prevent thecirculation of air through the tobacco, for a few days, thereby causingfermentation partial aging and coloring of the tobacco in said eartheninclosure, then removing the tobacco from said earthen inclosure andexposing it to the action of the sun and air for a few days, and thenagain placing the tobacco in a similar earthen inclosure for a few daysto cause further fermentation aging and coloring of the tobacco therein.

2. The method of curing tobacco which comprises placing the freshly-cutleaves in an earthen inclosure, adapted to prevent the circulation ofair through the tobacco, for a few days, thereby causing fermentation,partial aging and coloring of the tobacco in said earthen inclosure,then removing the tobacco from said earthen inclosure and ex posing itto the action of the sun and air for a few days, then again placing thetobacco in a similar earthen inclosure for a few days to cause furtherfermentation aging and coloring of the tobacco therein, and thenexposing the tobacco to the night air only for a few nights.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of witnesses.

115 MAROON B. X SARKE CS.

1111' C Witnesses:

J NO. MOYNIGAN,

JOHN P. CARROLL,

JAMEs I. MOCAREY, Jr.

